Comments on: Episode #73 – Fixing a Kenmore Elite Dishwasher that is not Cleaning Dishes

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:36:00 +0000

June, i’m not 100% sure. In general some gaskets are just force fit, sometimes they are held with screws. Paul or one of our other fans may have more info.

By: june martin

june martin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:28:16 +0000

how do I replace the gasket over the pump and under the wash arm. the big one at the bottom of the tub.

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:19:13 +0000

Robin, Paul is out of town this week, he will respond if he has any thoughts. Maybe one of listeners has a suggestion for Robin?

By: Robin

Robin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:58:40 +0000

I followed your directions, but discovered there was no water in the bottom basin. Cleaned everything and put everything back together, but I realize the water is not being pumped throughout my dishwasher, although water does fill in the bottom of the dishwasher. I guess I’ll have to call Sears, but I have to say, this has been the most expensive dishwasher we’ve ever purchased and it’s never done its job.

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:08:19 +0000

Thanks for the comment on the Handyguys Podcast.

Your problem sounds like my original problem. And I didn’t completely solve it in the video you saw. I had to take out one more cover that protects the chopper assembly and a small valve. In my case, I had a piece of glass covering this valve which was causing all of my glasses to have grit on them. The valve is supposed to allow soiled water to escape during the wash cycle. If something is blocking the hole to the valve, the dirty water can’t escape.

I almost always find stuff blocking this valve. So make sure you take off this cover. Unfortunately I did not show this in the video. However, we have a new video due to come out soon which shows this.

Thanks for listening to the podcast.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:27:57 +0000

The video was extremely easy to follow and I cleaned out 5 years worth of garbage trapped inside. I even replaced the Turbo Zone assembly because a hole from overheating/weak plastic had crumbled, leaving a quarter-sized gap. I thought this was causing low water pressure to the top rack. The bottom rack works fine. Anyway, I’m still getting debris on the bottom of coffee mugs, all glasses, etc. It’s incredibly frustrating because we paid a lot of money for this dishwasher 5 years ago. If you can help me figure out why it’s spraying dirty water to the top rack, I’m all ears! Thanks!

By: Episode #94 – Caulking Windows

Episode #94 – Caulking Windows — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:58:00 +0000

[...] of our recent video production on replacing a flush valve. In addition, we will be re-doing our “Fixing a Dishwasher” video in High Definition for additional clarity on the repair process. We hope to do a video showing some [...]

By: Home Improvement Podcast - The Handyguys Episode 100

Home Improvement Podcast - The Handyguys Episode 100 — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:57:31 +0000

[...] about some of our favorite shows. We had fun trying out riding mowers in episode 71. The dishwasher episode was great because it gets a ton of plays every day. Talking about snow blowers with The Wall Street [...]

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:01:52 +0000

Update: The new HD video of this dishwasher repair is recorded and in post production. Stay tuned.

By: bill

bill — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:06:54 +0000

When I removed the screen, the “basin” underneath had no water and it did not look like a basin to me. It looked like a plastic cover over the pump (I could see the impression of what looked like a pump underneath the plastic). When I look closely at the video, I think I see the plastic cover in the water. There was some broken glass on top of the cover.

My goal is to see if I can replace that pump, which I am told is bad, myself. There were two more screws in this pump cover but removing the screws did not allow me to remove the pump cover. I guess I have to get underneath the dishwasher to release this cover?

I had a repairman come in and he said after trying the machine that the pump needed replacement and quoted me 475 for the repair. So we left it that I would replace the dishwasher. Still if I can repair it myself for less it may be worth it.

To clarify my model it is Elite 665 . 15912001

Thanks!!!

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:30:36 +0000

Good point. It is not the “cap” or Bolt that unscrews, but the spray arm itself. I plan to refilm this very soon in a higher definition so people can see it better). I’ll be sure to provide closeups of this removal!

By: bill

bill — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:26:16 +0000

Correction, my model is Elite 665, not Elite 659

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:22:56 +0000

This video has been helpful for a lot of people. If you have found this site via google or other search engine, please be sure to check out all of our podcasts. We are also working on many new videos in HD which will presented on this site. The new dishwasher video will be included.

By: bill

bill — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:13:07 +0000

That is not a cap. It is a plastic bolt that the spray arm screws onto.
I thought it was a cap and also broke off a tab (but fortunately not both).

I was able to hold onto the plastic bolt and rotate the spray arm off. In the video, it looks like a cap is taken off and then the spray arm.

It may be the specific model. I have a Elite 659

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:29:08 +0000

That’s a tough one. You need to try to find a way to hold down on that cap while you turn the spray arm. It should unscrew. It usually does not take a lot of force. But without the tabs, I could see this being quite difficult!

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:52:34 +0000

I also noticed the cap on the bottom arm turned in the reverse direction from what I’m used to and unfortunately, I ended up breaking off the tabs of the cap. Any suggestions for what I can do to take off a tab-less cap in order to take the bottom arm off?

By: Florencia

Florencia — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 23:20:23 +0000

Thank you!! This podcast was given to us as a link by the technician at JustAnswer.com. We had the same problem (dirty top rack dishes and film on glasses) on our 3 yrr old Kitchen Aid that looks exactly like your Kenmore with the exception or different configuration of racks. We’d already taken apart the water delivery arms and tubes to unclog hard water deposits to no avail. Tried your fix and announced that I found 3 toothpicks, piece of glass, unpopped popcorn kernels, a Lego sword and general schmootz. Our 9 yr. old replied, “Who is General Schmootz?” Our other problem is that the Rinse Aid is dispensed by the bushels even though the arrow is on 2. It empties in 4 days! Should I just replace it or is there another fix. You guys are GREAT!

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 14:51:13 +0000

You’re welcome Amy! We are going to have some more videos in the future but also there is a lot of great information in the audio podcasts. Give them a listen.

By: Aimee

Aimee — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:20:39 +0000

Thank you for the wonderful video. My dishwasher was here when we moved in 6 months ago and I have hated it since day one. My dishes are never clean, especially the cups on top – always gunked up. I just finished putting the dishwasher back together and have high hopes – I found several twisty ties, many fish bones, and toothpicks! I would never have attempted this without your video – thank you!

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:32:33 +0000

Laura, glad we could help.

By: Laura

Laura — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:19:39 +0000

Thank you for the great tutorial! My husband and I just cleaned our Kenmore Elite and found what appeared to be cardboard jammed into the drain. So glad we didn’t have to pay to have it serviced!

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:31:46 +0000

Lynda – I would guess that after cleaning out the grinder things will work much better.

By: lynda

lynda — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:10:01 +0000

hi watched your video, really good, my elite is a little diff. model 655- but electronic..also… dont have any more info. as when i bough the house it was here… it recently hasnt pumped water up also… i took apart and went a little futher by removing another piece that looked like it was suppose to chop the food, it was completely plugged with food and looked like wet ground up paper… unfourtantly i already replaced the washer but want to repair this.. what do you think, you think i fixed it by cleaning the added part plus what you did? i havent been able to test it yet…..
thank you

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:15:50 +0000

Gary, glad it worked out for you. We didn’t expect that this show would be one of our most popular shows. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

By: Gary Smiley

Gary Smiley — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:11:23 +0000

Last night I noticed that my Kenmore Elite dishwasher was having the same problems- it wasn’t washing the upper rack of glasses. I found your site on the Internet, watched the video, did exactly what Paul said, and fixed the problem. The pump was clogged with 4 years of debris- toothpicks, bay leaves, cellophane, glass. Fortunately I had a torx screwdriver that had been given as a christmas present. So I have to thank you guys- it all worked perfectly!

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:04:45 +0000

Thanks Doug – Our client base is YOU. We are not appliance repair people. The Handyguys, Brian and Paul, are just a couple of average homeowners who happen to be handy. We produce the podcasts and videos as a free service. If you like what we are offering you can consider supporting our advertisers and sponsors or tell your friends to subscribe to the show. Any diggs, stumbles, tweets, etc are also appreciated.

Thanks everyone for the great feedback.

By: doug

doug — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:06:30 +0000

Handyguy
You sure reduced your client base but have helped so many. I would say that when you have a strainer smaller than anything you can access without a tool you are just asking for trouble. Design Flaw for sure. My Elite is under warranty and one tech wanted me to pay for the service call because there were foreign items in the strainer. Like Lemon seeds and a couple of pieces of food. That is not foreign in my book and once I watched (and saved) your video, I will never need that service again

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:08:49 +0000

geoff – We haven’t seen a gasket like you describe. Could it be from something else that was washed? Do you notice any leaks, unusual noises or inadequate cleaning? Maybe its a gasket from something like a canning jar.

By: The Handyguys

The Handyguys — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 11:57:09 +0000

The particle issue is very similar to what I had going on but did not document this well in my video because I actually had multiple issues (and didn’t discovery the particle part until after filming the video). At the bottom of the basin is the plastic strainer which I clean out in my video. You can remove that with a single torx screw being removed. Under that is the grinder and a little valve. This valve consists of a small rubber flapper about the size of a quarter (but not round). This “flapper valve” is supposed to open at various times of the wash and allow the soiled water to escape while other water gets re-pumped to the top of the rack. If the valve is not working, you will get the debris you mention on you dishes.
This valve is hard to see because you only see the top edge of it. It can be removed with needle nose pliers. You just pull it out of its slot to inspect. You can also check with your finger to see if it moves in and out of the small outlet (this outlet is only about the size of a dime). My valve had a piece of glass lodged in front of the outlet which was preventing the soiled water from escaping. As a result, the dishwasher was re-circulating the dirty water… thus leaving particles all over the dishes.

I am planning a new HD video with closeups of all these parts.

Handyguy Paul

By: Simon

Simon — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 05:09:13 +0000

Great instructional video. It gave me the confidence to take my Kenmore Dishwasher apart. Thanks.

Unfortunately, taking it apart and cleaning it out didn’t solve my problem. Additionally, I discovered that the plastic around the center of the jet nozzle was broken and probably reducing the water flow to the spray arms, therefore reducing the cleaning effectiveness.

The broken part I can easily replace, although I think it will be an expensive part $100+.

However, do you have any suggestions for solving my original problem? Here it is: Glasses come out with tiny pieces of debris. I put a bowl (right side up) in the empty washer and ran the rinse cycle. Small debris (the size of finely ground pepper) collected in the bottom of the bowl. It’s the same stuff on my glasses.

I’ve tried an acid (CLR) rinse. Also, a chlorine bleach rinse. I’ve taken it apart and cleaned out all the gunk. Nothing works, I still get this tiny debris in the rinse water and then on my glasses.

I couldn’t open up the grinder section, so maybe it needs cleaning? How do I open it up? Your video didn’t go that far.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

- Simon